Dreams
by SillhouetteSonata
Summary: After Light Yagami's death, two high school students come across a mysterious notebook titled Death Note. As the teens continue Kira's reign of terror, the SPK and Near aren't the only predicaments they must face; a vengeful spirit seeks to kill them in a domain where one should always be safe: their dreams. Can the sleep-deprived teens really trust their shinigami and stay awake?
1. Unnessacary, Irrelevant Author's Note

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**_I normally really hate author's notes and leave them to the end of the story for credits and what not, but I have decided to put one here anyway. So, this whole thing is basically asking anyone who reads to please review. PLEASE! I feel like I'm in solitary confinement sitting her all isolated. Although, then again I do have my twin, but she's only bitching at me to give the computer back. SO PLEASE REVIEW. Please! Damn, I hate putting so many exclaimation marks. It feels so unprofessional.

So anyways, you can review anything from hate mail to likes or questions or whatever. You can also make requests for Hetalia, Death Note, Soul Eater, My Chemical Romance (I'll get my twin to do those ones), Creepypastas... I'll even do smut fics. (Possibly yaoi, no yuri). Hell, I'll even put in your OC if you give a name and description. Just don't ever expect a happy ending. Just saying...

SO PLEASE! FOR THE BILLIONTH TIME! (Er, third.) PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW!


	2. Prologue

The red, steel door slid open in what felt like an eternity to the eight souls inside. When the dust cleared and the bright sun light faded, Teru Mikami stood holding the Death Note under his right arm; a psychotic grin on his face. Light Yagami, prime suspect of being the mass murderer Kira, smugly asks the young man in the door way,

"How many seconds has it been since you wrote down the first name?" All eyes were on Mikami.

Mikami held his left arm up to his face, his eyes stained red from trading half of his life for the Shinigami eyes and the ability to see everyone's name and lifespan. His smile widened and white teeth were visible.

"Thirty-five," Mikami began, closely watching his watch.

Light and the entire Japanese Task Force glued their eyes to the judgmental man, hoping that Near's plan would succeed. Otherwise, they'd all die within seconds. Near kept his gaze on Light with a blank face as the twenty-four year old New-L tried to suppress a smirk.

"Thirty-six, thirty-seven, thirty-eight, thirty-nine..." Mikami continued.

Light's gaze transferred from Mikami to Near without moving his head in the slightest. A huge smirk plastered his face showing every bit of malice and sociopathic tendencies within him, he spoke in a cold voice,

"Well, Near, looks like I win..."

"Forty!" Mikami yelled in an excited rage. The small dial on his watch finished it's cycle two-thirds of the way around.

Light let out a small chuckle while Near's unchanging expression eyed his every move. Touta Matsuda held his head, eyes clenched shut. The young man was terrified. Nothing happened. Slowly, Matsuda opened his eyes as he realized that there was no pain in his chest or anywhere for that matter. No one had died in the forty seconds since the first name was written down in the Death Note.

"W-We're still alive.." Matsuda spoke in a sheepish voice.

Mikami's expression changed from a psychotic smirk to a confused state of disbelief. The young man's face scrunched in confusion, wrinkles forming from the stress. A muffled sound of shock escaped his throat. Light's eyes widened. Confusion clearly evident on his face as well.

"It's been over a minute and... we haven't died..." Matsuda continued.

"Didn't I already tell you all that no one was going to die?" Near's young voice broke the silence in a bored voice. From his slouching position on the floor, his expression never faltered.

Small gasps came from Mikami. He was shaking and it looked as if he would vomit. His long, black hair fell over into his face. Near lifted a finger to twirl in a lock of his white hair. The albino child starred both Light and Mikami down intensely.

"B-But why!?" Mikami's now shaky voice questioned Light. "Why won't they die!?" He began to quickly scribble in the Death Note again.

Light's face was still frozen in shock. He hadn't moved nor made a sound since the forty seconds had expired. His eyes were wide and he was slightly shaking himself.

"God, I did everything you told me!" Mikami exclaimed to Light, his false god.

"Rester, Gevanni! Take him down, now!" Near called out to two of his fellow SPK members.

"Ghaaa! No!" Mikami exclaimed and took a hurried step back.

The two men rushed up to Mikami, one grabbing him from behind while the other handcuffed his arms in front. Mikami dropped the notebook, but managed to keep the pen in hand. "Noooo!"

"Givanni, the notebook please..." Near kept in his slouching position but held his right arm up for the note. Stephen Givanni obediently handed the notebook to his leader. "If you didn't believe me earlier, then see for yourselves..."

Near held up the tattered notebook so that everyone could see the names written inside: Nate River, Anthony Carter, Stephan Loud, Halle Bullook, Touta Matsuda, Shuichi Aizawa, and Kanzo Mogi.

"I can confirm that the first four names are definitely the real names of the SPK members." Near continued.

Light watched closely; examining and memorizing each and every one of the names written in the fake Death Note. His expression was blank and slightly resentful, but still trying to keep his cool. Perhaps there was still a chance to talk himself out of this...

"The rest is the names of your team. The only name that hasn't been written down is Light Yagami..." No, there was no chance out of this one.

As Light slowly began to realize this, his face hardened. Taking shaky breaths, he glared at Near with red eyes from beneath his long, caramel-colored bangs.

"If that weren't enough, Mikami also addressed you as god and said that he did as you asked... It's settled."

Taking another shaky breath, Light suddenly exclaims, "It's a trap!" His voice breaks and the desperation is evident in his eyes. "This whole thing is a set up!" Light raised a pointed finger towards Near. "This is all part of Near's plan to frame me! Isn't it a little odd that no one died after having their name written in the notebook!? This proves it's a trap!" Light's voice continued to rise with every word he spoke.

Matsuda and the others from the Task force gasped and stared at their colleague. He'd snapped.

"I thought that I already told you that no one would die because I modified the notebook..." Near's expressionless face now held a slight smirk.

"No! You... duh ugh!" Light for once didn't know what to say. Looking to his side, he continued,"Tha-That can't be!"

Mikami stared at Light sheepishly through melancholy eyes. Had he not been responsible for hundreds of deaths, some might feel _sorry_ for him. Perhaps a wrong place, wrong time incident...

"This is a set up..." Light repeated. "I don't know this guy!"

As if he were stabbed in the heart, Mikami fumbled backwards. Either it was hate and pain that he was feeling for having Light blame this all on him, or that the fact that his _god_ was in such a position that he had to do this was too painful for him, no one knew. The one thing that was certain though, was the unspoken truth. Mikami started sobbing.

Aizawa placed his hand on Light's shoulder. "Light, it's stoo late to defend yourself." He spoke in a calm voice. "You know Near has won. Just a moment ago, you were saying that, 'It looks like I win.' How much more of a confession do we need?"

Light turned and looked at the older man. There eyes met and Light's were cold. He turned back and looked at the ground while Aizawa removed his hand from Light's shoulder. For a short time, the building was quiet...

"Light..." Matsuda sighed, dropping to his knees.

With Giavanni standing on one side of light, Rester walked up with handcuffs. Grabbing Light's right wrist, he began to handcuff the young murderer.

"Huh?! Stop it!" Light shoved Rester back with all of his might and stumbled back. Running in the opposite direction, Light tripped and skidded across the ground before crawling over to the wall with his back to the seven other men in the room.

hyperventilating, Light takes a glance back at everyone; that shocked and horrified look plastered on his face. He was totally helpless now.

"Light Yagami..." Near began. "L, Kira... It's over, you've lost the game."

Near's expression was cold again with a certain fire burning inside him. He was staring at the person who had killed his mentor, his teacher, his partner. He loathed him. His eyes were unforgiving. Light glared back at him still taking deep breaths.

"Just a moment ago, you proclaimed your victory, expecting us all to die." Near Continued. "And to tell the truth, you might have actually won and I would have lost. We ended up doing exactly as you expected us to and altered the fake notebook in Mikami's possession. However, before, when I said that we had modified the notebook, I was in fact referring to the real notebook as well as the fake."

Light gasped. How'd he been so careless? His whole world was tumbling down around him. Nothing he could do or say would stop his fate now. Not now.

"We only switched part of the fake notebook," Near explained as his eyes scanned the tattered cover of the notebook in his hand. "But as for the real one, we replaced the entire thing. This notebook here is actually the real one..." The young boy said as he pulled the real Death Note from within his shirt. It had been fully hiden by his slouching position.

Realizing this, Light, Kira gasped. "No! Impossible!" He exclaimed.

Near laid the real notebook on the floor so that everyone could see the thousands of names written within and continued his explanation, "We used the same pen and ink as Mikami did and copied his hand writing perfectly and made both the inside and the outside of our fake look exactly like the real one. Giavanni was able to do it in a single night..."

Light looked up to the young man behind Near, Giavanni. His brown hair coated his american features and a smug smirk while he held a loaded gun towards the ground.

"Of course, since I touched the notebook before coming, Ive been able to see the shinigami as well."

"hunh?" Ryuk the shinigami gasped as he made his presence known, making Matsuda and Mogi jump back at the same time.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mister Shinigami. I am Near." Near spoke to the gray skinned death god.

"krehehehehe" Ryuk gave out a throaty laugh, his eyes glowing red. "Nice to meet you, too. My name is Ryuk."

Light stared up at his shinigami in disbelief. A look of disgust bordered his features. since Near could see Ryuk and talk to him, then it must be true. That would mean that Light truly had lost to this... kid.

"Some of the edges of the pages in this notebook are torn." Near stated to the shinigami. "Tell me, if someone's name is written on a torn off piece of paper, would they still die?" His voice was calm and never faltering.

"Oh yeah. 'Course they would." Ryuk explained, betraying Light.

"I thought so..." Near stated more to himself than anyone.

Light couldn't believe this. Ryuk had told him once that he was neither his friend nor his enemy. But, but this... He'd bought that damn shinigami dozens upon dozens of apples and had eased his boredom when times were bleak. He'd thought that he would have been at least a little bit biased.

"I bet you were able to use that to your advantage." Near continued. "I wonder how many times you've deceived us with this and how many people you've killed..." Near put the notebook down beside the L mask on the floor. Letting his white hair cover his face completely, Near stated the obvious with venom laced in his voice: "Light Yagami... you _are_ Kira."

Light couldn't hide it anymore. He'd been caught. But he hadn't lost. Not yet... This all had to be a trick. Or could it have been that Mikami had betrayed him somehow?

As if reading Light's mind, Near stated, "No. You are mistaken. This was all thanks to Mello." Near held up a finger puppet of the late Mello on his index finger. "I believe that if I explain this much, you'll begin to understand..."

"What?! Mello..." Light asked in a raspy voice.

"Near held up the Death Note. "Please take a look at this page of the notebook..." Near then flipped to the said page.

Light gasped. There on that page, was Takada and Mello's names with a different cause of death than Light had written on the ripped off peice of notebook paper. This little piece of evidence was damning. Light looked over at Mikami.

"God, you told me you couldn't move freely..." Mikami stated with pleading eyes. "I had to make sure that Takada was taken care of. Wasn't that my duty to you?"

"You idiot!" Light screamed. "I give you strict orders not to make any unnecessary movements until today!"

"Then, it's all true..." Near stated. Light had just proven that he was Kira for the fifth time. "On the twenty-sixth, right after Takada's kidnapping broadcast on the news, Mikami went to the bank."

"I've trialed him," Giovanni spoke up. "I knew that he went to the bank every month on the twenty-fifth. So, it was odd... for someone so methodical to go to the bank twice in two days... I followed Mikami to the bank as he headed to the safety deposit boxes. It was only at this time that he seemed concerned as to if someone were watching him. I got into his safe deposit box. Inside was the real notebook. Sure enough, Takada's name had already been written inside it."

"Do you understand now, Light Yagami?" Near asked in his monotone. "You didn't realize that Mikami made a move on his own and wrote Takada's name down in his notebook while you had already killed her using a notebook clipping yourself. This was the event that made me consider a fake notebook. We were able to stop you thanks to the efforts of one person: it was Mello who did it all. I bet that Mello knew in his heart, that working by ourselves, we never would have been able to attain our goal and surpass our mentor, L. But, together... together we can stand with L! Together, we can surpass L! And now, acting as one, we face the Kira that defeated L and with solid evidence beat him at his own game!... Let's see you talk your way out of this one, if you can..."

Light's face was full of anger. His teeth were bared and he was at the verge of snapping again and loosing his control. He had no way to talk his way out of this one. Near was right. But, he could use this as a distraction while he uses his last shot at building a perfect world...

An eerie silence fell over the large, steel room...

Light let out a nearly inaudible chuckle. But, soon it grew in pitch and volume and made Near and the rest of the SPK members look up. Light threw back his head, his metaphorically crimson eyes shining. His shadow on the wall grew to a monstrous proportions and he laughed. He let all of the turmoil and insanity that he'd been surpressing run free. All anyone could do was stare. The remaining members of the task force, Matsuda, Mogi, and Aizawa, had to watch as someone that they had thought to be their ally for the past six years revealed his true colors.

Finally, ending his psychotic laughter with a deep breath of air, he began his confession, "That's right... _I AM KIRA... _And what can you do?" Light turned his head to stare at Near. "Kill me right here? Hear this: I'm not only Kira, but I am also... god of the new world. Kira has become law in the world we now live in. He's the one who's maintaining order. I have become justice. The only hope for man kind..." He let out another small laugh and held both of his hands out to the sides, his back to everyone. "Kill me? Is that really the right thing to do? Since Kira's appearance six years ago, wars have stopped and global crime rates have reduced by over seventy percent. But... it's not enough; this world is still rotten! With so many rotten people... somebody has to do this!" Light then remembered the first time he held the Death Note back in the high school yard. "When I first picked up that notebook all of those years ago, I knew that I had to do it! No, I was the only one that could... I understood that killing people was a crime. But, there was no other way! The world had to be fixed! A purpose given to me! Only I could have done it..." Light finally turned and faced everyone, all of the fear and rage in his eyes. "Who else could have done it and come this far!? And so I kept going!" Light sighed. "The only one who can create a new world... is me..." Another eerie silence fell as Light finished explaining his divine right.

"No!" Near's voice erupted, louder than ever. "You're just a murderer, Light Yagami... And this notebook is the deadliest weapon of mass murder in the history of man kind. You yielded to the power of the shinigami and the notebook. And you have confused yourself with a god. In the end, you are nothing more than a crazy serial killer. That's all you are..." Near smiled to himself. "Nothing more and nothing less..."

All Light could do was glare at his foe. The members of the Task Force also glared at their new foe. They were all useless fools... How had Light ever expected them to understand? Light looked up to the ceiling as he thought. Now was the time for his plan. Now was the time for his last shot... He could feel the heavy watch on his wrist.

"Near..." Light called out. Not giving the child time to answer, he continued, "Here's some food for thought... That notebook that you have, and the one that Aizawa brought from the Japanese Task Force Headquarters... Are they both real?"

Near looked him over. He couldn't figure this out. Was Light bluffing?

"At the moment, only I know where the real notebook is..." Light stated starting a slow pace away from them. "If you truly want to defeat Kira, as well as test the notebook that Aizawa's carrying, I guess you're either gonna have to right down my name, or Mikami's." He said, ending his trot at the end of the warehouse.

Near continued to look him over. What he was saying didn't make any since...

"It's the only way to see if it's real..." Light stated, pulling down the reset time trigger on his watch. He pulled it again and shot an eye back to glance at Near. He pulled it again. "OR FAKE!" Pulling the trigger one last time, the bottom slid out with a clean clipping of the Death Note's paper inside.

Immediately pulling out a pen, Light racked his mind for Near's name... Nate River.

"He's hidden a piece of the notebook!" Rester yelled.

Matsuda pulled out his pistol and with perfect aim, shot Light in the hand before he got half way through the first name. Light dropped the pen. Blood streamed down his limp fingers...

"Ghaaa! Matsuda, you idiot!" Light screamed in agony. "Who the hell do you think you're shooting at!?" Low growls escaped his throat. "Don't screw with me!"

Tears streamed down Matsuda's face. mixed emotions running through his mind. This had been his friend, his ally. He was his late boss's son.

"What was it all for, then?" He finally choked out. "What about your dad!? What the hell did he die for!?" He was still pointing the gun at Light.

"My dad? Ha ha ha haaaauhaau... You mean Soichiro Yagami... That's right Matsuda. In this world, all of those earnest people who fight for justice always lose. Were in a world were people like that are made to be fools! _I know you understand so kill the others!_ Gha! Shoot them!" Light shouted out his rant.

"... You led your own father to his death, and now that he's gone, you call him a fool!?" Matsuda couldn't stop the tears which flowed down his face.

The blood was still dripping off of Light's fingers. He wasn't giving up yet. Not yet! Taking his index finger, her began to write the rest of the name in his own blood. It flowed and the thin paper absorbed the iron-filled liquid.

"He's using his blood!" Aizawa yelled.

"Uhaaaaaaaaghhhhhh!" Matsuda yelled releasing all of his rage.

Matsuda shot four bullets at Light and they all hit their target: two to the right shoulder, one just beneath the left lung, and one to the liver. The hot metal pierced Light's body as a new form of pain that he'd ever felt overtook him. He landed on the ground in a large puddle of water.

"I'll kill him!" Matsuda yelled running towards Light, now writhing in pain on the ground. His body squirming against his will. He couldn't move and he couldn't save himself from the enraged Matsuda. "He _must die!"_

Pointing the gun towards Light, he pulled the trigger one final time, emptying the gun. Time seemingly froze in the room. Light felt cement chunks hit his face hard and his ears ringing. Matsuda had missed. He'd shot a whole straight through the cold floor. Matsuda was now being held back and consoled by the rest of the Task Force. Mikami stood by himself now. Giovanni and Rester were now helping to console Matsuda. He watched as his _God _was placed in an utterly helpless position. How had this happened. He had to do something. The world was unclean! There were so many more people who needed to be deleted! _He had to save his god!_

"Damn you... ghuhh! W-what... the hell... is this!?" Light called from his position of crawling on the floor. "Mikami!? What are you waiting for!? Write down there names! Gahh! Write... them down! Gahhuh! Kill them now!"

"It's finally over..." Rester stated. "Isn't it, Near?"

"Yes..." Near whispered back in a barely audible voice.

"W-Where are you Misa? Where's Takada!?" Images of the two women Light had abused flashed in his head... There was no one to help him now. "S-Some... one... What do I do now?" Light questioned himself.

This chance was all that Mikami needed. Taking the pen he was still gripping ever so tightly, he impaled himself through his chest into vital organs. Blood spewed everywhere.

"AhhhhhhhhhughhhhhhhhGAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Mikami flailed around helplessly, his vision blurred by the new found tears.

Light knew what Mikami was doing. And even if he was wrong, he was thankful that he had this chance to escape. Light turned over onto his stomach, pushing through the pain. He slowly started tp crawl towards the door. While everyone was focused on Mikami.

"What the- Mikami!" Mogi yelled as all of the SPK and Task Force members rushed to the now dying man. Everyone except for Near who intently watched Light make a break for it.

"Quick! Stop the bleeding!" Matsuda instructed.

"It's already too late," Mogi informed the other. "He's dying..."

Mikami couldn't hear anything over his own screaming...

Matsuda sighed and looked away knowing there was nothing that he could do. That's when he saw the red, steel door slowly sliding open, and a limping Light running out the door.

"Wait! Light!" Matsuda yelled, informing the others of Light's escape.

"He's getting away!" Rester yelled. "Light!"

"Mister Mogi, wait!" Near's voice stopped the men in their tracks as they started to chase after Light. "It's unlikely that he has anymore pieces of the notebook, and he won't get that far with those wounds." Near held up the blood-soaked piece of the Death Note. "He'll stop running soon enough, even if we leave him alone."

"Hunh. Near, I'm not going to follow your orders..." Aizawa stated before running after Light.

"Very well then..." Near stated, slightly shocked at Aizawa's reaction. Matsuda followed after him, Mogi too.

Light was running with his left hand gripping his right shoulder while his other arm swung limp. The sun was setting and the orange rays of light reflected through the tall gate to his left. Up ahead was the railroad crossing. He could see himself up ahead, too. Six years ago; the day that he'd first picked up the Death Note. He was so... innocent then. He had no idea the power in his hands. And as he ran on, he passed his younger, guileless self. That person was forever gone... A broken memory of his past.

His head was throbbing. His entire body hurt. It was becoming harder to keep his eyes open. He was so drowsy. Sleep felt... so good. No! They were after him. He knew it. He needed to get away. He... Kira can't die yet! Light rounded a corner and found a group of more warehouses much like the one he'd just escaped from. He'd started sobbing. He didn't know why exactly it was that the tears were falling, but they were. And the tears were washing away the blood from his cheeks. The closest warehouse, number seventeen, was right in front of him. It would be... a good place to hide, to rest for a minute. The door was already... open. Light stumbled into the large room. The inside was practically the same as it was inside the first warehouse with the red door. The only significant difference was... the staircase in the middle of the room. It led up to a balcony.

"Well, Light. It looks like you've lost." Ryuk spoke to himself. He was now sitting atop a satellite tower which towered the many warehouses. "Remember how in the beginning, I told you that I would be the one writing your name down in my note? That is part of the agreement between a shinigami who brings a Death Note to the Human World, and the first human to pick it up. If they put you in prison, who knows when you'd die... And I don't want to lay around waiting. So, it's all over. You'll die here. It was good while it lasted. We eased each others' boredom for quite a while."

Light stumbled up the stairs. His right hand was pretty much dead and of no use to him. Light thought about how wonderful sleep would be as he slowly crawled up each step. Before he could think to push that thought away, a strange feeling occurred in his chest. It wasn't pain exactly... it just felt weird. Light considered all of the possibilities of what could be happening to him as he stopped crawling half way up the staircase. He was mostly numb in his chest and abdomen due to the bullet wounds... And then it hit him. He was having a heart attack; he just couldn't feel it... Light was calm while he considered who could have done this to him... Perhaps Near did it to execute his justice. Or perhaps Matsuda wrote Light's name down after he escaped. Or...

"This has been very interesting. Thank you Light..."

His chest burned now. The pain cut through the numbness. Light fell to his knees half way up the staircase and fell over on to his side before completely collapsing and lying on his back in an uncomfortable position. Light looked straight forward, right down the stairs. With every breath he took, his vision blurred. But... Light had to keep his eyes open. He couldn't let them close. He couldn't fall asleep... because, he knew that if he did, he'd never wake up. And the reign of Kira would be over.

Light tried to reason this all out in his head... keep his mind open so that it could never fade. But wait... someone was watching him. Someone was standing at the bottom of the steps with cold eyes. A grin Light thought he would never see... was smug on a dead man's face. In this slim moment, Light's mind went blank. And in that time, his rapid thoughts started to die down and his mind began to fade away into a more calm and peaceful state.

"N-No..." Light choked out in a strained whisper. "You... L..."

With that, Light's heavy eyelids began to fall over his glassy eyes and his mind was a simple hum in the background. His rapid heart rate slowed beat by beat. Light's senses left him along with his black-stained soul. L watched as his murderer left this world. But L's victory was short-lived. He knew that now, after six years of Kira's tyranny, a successor would come and try to complete this image of a perfect world.

"And when they do come..." The apparition of L. Lawliet began, "I will make sure to end them... For a perfect world truly is a nightmare."


	3. Chapter One

Light's eyes fluttered open. The events of his past were burning through his mind. His eyes quickly darted from side to side as he was forced to watch agonizing memories, every little mistake that he'd ever made and how it had led him to where he was now. His genius mind was on the verge of snapping. No one would have realized how much madness engulfed his life, not even Light himself, had he not been watching it all at the very moment. It was unbelievable how carless and stupid he had been; how he had let such trivial things slip between his fingers.

Light was starting to see past the visions and memories. As his vision slowly returned, he found himself staring up at a starless sky. At first, Light thought that he was still blinded, but his eyes focused in on distance and a few particles of sand which blew past his face and he realized that he could see. He could also feel a rocky ground beneath him. Light used his hands to push off of the rather comfortable position on the ground and sit up, leaning his torso over on to his knees slightly. As much as he would have liked to just lay there, it was the position in which his heart had stopped. The most vivid memory that he had just witnessed was still there in his head. And it would be forever. It was the memory of L standing over his broken, dying form. That rare expression plastered on his enemy's face... That damn smile, telling Light that in the end, L had indeed won and Light had lost. Kira had failed. Failed at creating his perfect world. And now he was damned. Light would still be alive had that little brat, Near, never interfered. He was so inferior to L. For an underling, a student, he had much to learn before he could even consider taking the title of 'L.' Yet, somehow, he had defeated Light. After six years of Kira slipping between the Japanese Task Force and the FBI's fingers, Near and the SPK had brought forth his downfall.

Snapping out of his pensive state of thought, Light positioned his hands so that he could push up and stand. Right as his hands came into eyesight, his heart seemingly stopped and he let out a very much audible gasp. His hands... No. Those couldn't be his hands. It was an optical illusion, a reflection of the light. He had to be dreaming. He brought his hands to his face and his eyes scanned every little detail of each finger; if you could still call them fingers... They were _skeletal._ Skinny, white segments somehow connected and moved without muscles and tendons. He bent each finger and realized that the flesh on his hands were gone. More anxiety overcame Light as he slowly reached over and gently clenched onto the hem of his sleeve. Time seemingly froze as Light realized what was under his sleeve. With one fluent motion, he lifted up both his brown, business coat and white dress shirt up to elbow length. The skin and flesh were still attached to his forearm and elbow, but immediately began to melt and slid off, revealing more white bone. Light was speechless, thoughtless, motionless... He didn't know what to think about this, he didn't understand it at all.

Light lifted his bony hands to his face and ran his fingers over his face. He felt ridged cheekbones and exposed teeth. If his face had melted away, then why was he able to see? If his eyes had stayed intact and not dried out without eyelids already, then the next question was how he was able to blink. Light proceeded to run his hands up his skeletal face to his scalp. It appeared that most all of his hair was still with him somehow. He could feel the rough texture and complete dryness of it, though. It was disheveled and in random directions, spiking up and clumping together. He was sure this was the worst bed head he'd ever had. Light sighed. He then realized how little he'd been breathing since he'd awoken. Actually, he hadn't been breathing at all, save the few times where he'd had to seemingly force out a sigh or a gasp.

Deciding that he'd spent enough time, thinking things over and doing nothing, Light placed his hands back on the dry ground and pushed himself up. He was shocked at how much less he weighed now; although what did he expect? Two thirds of his body weight had just melted off of his bones, literally. He had trouble balancing and swayed a couple of times before finally being able to hold himself up. Now that he was standing, Light could finally take in his surroundings. With spectacular vision, Light scanned the land around him: The ground was dusty and grey, the rocks that he'd felt and had been lying on were actually sharp pieces of bone that he'd realized had cut into his clothe, and mountains of rock and bone covered the rest of the scenery. It was the same for miles beyond the horizon.

'Could this be hell?' Light thought to himself. 'No.' Light shook his head from side to side. He hadn't forgotten his human mannerisms. Ryuk had once told him that anyone who uses the Death Note can never go to heaven nor hell. Although Ryuk could have lied about that. Light could no longer trust Ryuk. That damned shinigami betrayed him. As far as Light was concerned, Ryuk was an enemy. He'd told Light that he was neither his ally nor enemy. He'd helped Light multiple times, although, it always seemed to benefit Ryuk in some way. Perhaps Ryuk betrayed Light for the same reason. Was this the nothingness he'd heard that he was destined to spend an eternity in? 'Oh well... Wherever I am, I'm stuck here now. No use in just sitting around. If there's a way out, I'm bound to find it.' Light thought as he tried desperately to suppress his anxiety and memories of the weeks that he'd spent in solitary confinement; a true form of torture.

Light scanned the surrounding mountains. The closest one was only a couple of miles or so away. Light looked back down at his feet. White bone segments were visible. His shoes were ruined, his sharp, bony toes had ripped the fine shoes to shreds. Forcing out a long sigh, Light slowly picked one foot up and extended it in front of him. He repeated the process with his left foot. With each step he took, the shoes fell apart even more so than they already were. Also, Light found a new sense of balance with his lighter person.

'I feel silly,' Light thought. 'Like a child learning to walk for the first time. Although, I guess I am considered relatively young in my new life, here in death.' Light stopped his slow pace suddenly. "And if I'm dead then I have nothing to fear. If I fall, it's not like I'm going to break my neck...'

Light knelt down and got into a crouching position. Transferring most all of his strength to his legs, he pushed up off of the grey earth. Light's hair flew back behind him, his tattered tie blowing back as well. Light flew up into the air; the bone-covered ground far beneath his agile form. For a brief second, Light was absolutely weightless. He just levitated there for a moment before gravity began his descent. Within seconds, Light hit the ground with a force that sent dust up from the bleak ground. It would have killed most other men; yet, when the dust cleared, Light stood there in perfect form. All anxiety of falling was now gone. Light chuckled lightly to himself. He noticed then how much his voice had changed: It had gone from a somewhat innocent sounding young man's voice to a deep, malice-filled voice with a strange ringing to it. Light had no cover up now. It seemed that here, in nothingness, Light was being represented as he truly was inside; in his black-stained soul.

Light knelt back down into position. This time however, he pushed forward with his energy rather than up. Light was shocked at his own speed. In life, he had been very athletic and had competed in some track races, but those were nothing compared to his speed now. With every step he took, he was skipping yards at a time. He didn't even feel the slightest bit exhausted by it either. Light liked the feel of the speed, the feel of power. Not once had Light Yagami ever considered that in death he would feel so alive...

The mountain grew closer. Light could now see with his seemingly perfect vision that the mountain's sides were huge, nearly completely vertical cliffs; giant bones much too big to be considered human were protruding from various locations, some were jagged and had other skeletons hanging off of them. Light noticed that there was a substantial increase of white bones nearer the top and from a distance, it kind of looked like snow. The sick comparison was quite accurate. Some of the bones would give way and lead to an avalanche of white and brown remains. The rest of the mountain, what was beneath the bones was all grey rock, just like the rest of the ground. It seemed that rock and bone were the only two things in this world.

Light pushed his narrow legs to go faster and pushed his arms out straight behind his back for arrow dynamics. He needed momentum for the stunt he was planning to perform. The cliff was now a mere hundred feet in front of him. With one powerful leap, Light soared into the air once again. Time slowed again, but this time, Light used it as a time to plan. As he fell to the world once again, Light kept his legs bent beneath him. As he landed, Light perched upon one of the giant bones; the force of his fall causing it to slide out of place a little.

_CRACK _

The bone began to fall more so out of place and slide down the cliff, dust flying in all directions. With cat-like reflexes, Light sprung up to the next bone in a crouched position. Light was surprised with how agile he was in death. Springing from perch to perch, Light began to see the top of the cliff. As Light landed on another protruding bone, he pushed up through the wispy, grey clouds which had now began to form around him. Light closed his eyes and felt something collapse beneath him as he landed.

Light looked down. A human skull was shattered under his tattered shoes which were now only connected to his skeletal feet by the laces. The soles of his shoes were completely ripped apart. Shards of the skull had pierced through the leather of his shoes.

'The bones are so sharp…' Light thought to himself. A devilish smirk graced his features. Light had an idea.

Completely forgetting the reason he'd come up the mountain in the first place, Light began searching through the piles of bones at his feet. He found a completely intact vertebrate and a chipped hip bone on a ledge a couple of feet beneath the peak. Next, he found some ribs and connected it to the hilt that he'd made. There were only a few human skulls on the mountain, so Light had to use abnormal looking triceratops skulls.

Light held his segmented fingers up to his face, clutched into a fist. A couple of seconds passed with Light just staring at his fist…

"AAAAAAAAHHHHRRRR!" Light's jaw dislocated like a snake as he screamed.

Lights fist came down on the dinosaur skulls. With a sick crunching sound, the skulls shattered one by one. Light stayed still after that. Because of his lack of breathing, the air around him was stagnant, as he was. One would have thought that he was part of the bone pile had he stayed that way. Light just stared down at the broken skulls. When he was human, he had never had strength like this. The first that Light moved after that was his hands. The fingers flexed and creaked as if the hadn't moved in ages. Light reached down and picked up a large piece of skull. The edges were razor sharp.

Light looked down at his shoes. 'Oh well…' He thought.

Light placed the sharp bone back on the ground. Light turned his head down to what was left of his shoes. His head cocked to the side in an inhuman way as he stared at the tattered strands of leather. With his thumb and index finger, he lightly grabbed the lace of his left shoe and pulled. The bow and knot holding his shoes together came undone and the whole thing fell off of his foot and collapsed in a pile of dusty leather.

Light clutched the shard of the skull he'd shattered and with one swift movement, ran it across the coarse leather. He didn't feel the shard snag or even feel it touch the material at all. Yet, when Light looked down, the remains of his shoe was now sliced in half. Repeating the action with the other, Light began to stab the remains of his shoes ferociously. The blade in his hand was unsteady and moved along his palm. If Light had had skin, his hands would have been ripped to shreds. When Light came out of his frenzy, he took a couple of seconds to just sit there before getting to work.

Light grabbed the long shreds of leather from his shoes and the shards from the skulls. He placed the ridged shards between the ribs which had already been placed, and tied whatever wouldn't stay on its own together with the laces and leather. Finally, he wrapped the remaining leather around the vertebrate which he could now use as a hilt. Light lifted up his creation and admired it. Light now held in his hand a scythe made of bone and leather.

"Hmmm… " Light chuckled darkly to himself.

Light slowly trotted to the edge of the cliff once again. He felt strong and powerful holding his weapon. As his eyes fixated over the land and the horizon beneath him, Light's smirk vanished. There were thousands of black figures moving around on the ground beneath him. For as far as the eye could see, creatures roamed the land. What were these things? Were they dangerous? Would they kill him, or were they like him? Light didn't know what to think about this. How'd he missed them before?

"Only one way to find out…" Light forced a sigh out.

Light positioned the scythe in such a way that the hilt was behind his back and the blade was stuck out a way from him. Light crouched down again in a slightly feline style. With all of his strength in his legs, Light pushed up off of the mountain. As he burst through the grey clouds, he could see the creatures beneath him turn their heads and look up at him seemingly in awe. He felt powerful. Light felt that even in death, he was still superior to all beings around him.

As Light hit the ground, a cloud of dust arose around him and spread out over the land in waves. The impact of his fall sounded like thunder. The creatures around him no longer had the look of awe and amazement for him. They were now laughing at him.

"Show off…" One of the creatures closer to the scene muttered.

This creature was also a skeletal being, only, he had no arms. He wore no shirt and grey patches of skin and stitches covered his torso. He also wore skinny jeans which were covered in the grey dust and a pair of fringed cowboy boots. His skull had no hair; just a big crack that revealed a hollow head and too yellow eyeballs.

As the creature turned away and began to walk off, a loud gust of wind was heard and the dust began its waves of grey dirt again. Light burst out through the top of the cloud. On his back was a pair of skeletal wings filled in with black and silver feathers. The creature with the hollow skull didn't have time to turn around before his face came in contact with the hilt of Light's scythe. The creature fell back to the ground and covered his throbbing head. The others had all stopped their current activities to watch Light and the wounded comrade.

"What the-" The creature was silenced as Light held the blade of the scythe above the creature's head. Yellow eyes stared in shock and horror at Light.

"Silence!" Light hissed. The creature sat there quietly. "Where…" Light began, "Where am I?" Light's tone was less demanding and more spaced out and confused.

"Seriously?" A voice arose from the crowd.

Light turned his head toward the direction of the voice. The crowd spread and revealed three creatures sitting around a grey rock. They appeared to be gambling. The one that had spoken to him chuckled darkly. His face was pulled up in an unnatural way to reveal sharp teeth, and he wore a Native American headdress that almost covered his eyes. The two sitting around him were also starring at Light. The first's head was a deer skull and he seemed to constantly be scratching the top of his head. He seemed to have brown fur over the top of his chest as a shirt and over his hips and legs like pants. The second had a seemingly skinned face. His eyes and nose were covered with a silver cloth. Long black hair emitted from behind the cloth covering the top of his head. The rest of the creature was covered in peeling linen bandages.

Light lowered the scythe and began a quick trot over to the three creatures. He stopped in front of the stone table. Small bones and skulls were placed over the table. Light was still. He finally spoke:

"Tell me everything." Light demanded.

"He he he." The first creature laughed; the headdress bouncing slightly as he did so. "You're new… It's rare that I see any new faces around here."

Light stared at the creature taking in every little detail of what the creature was saying and prepared for whatever came next.

"You'll want to speak with Ryuk…" The creature spoke. Light's eyes widened. He would have gasped if he didn't already have to force himself to breathe. _Ryuk._

'It can't be…' Light thought. It was so simple. How had Light missed this before? "I…" Light could barely form the words. "I'm in the Shinigami Realm…"

"Heh." The creature with the deer skull for a head snorted.

'That means that they all are shinigami…' Light thought to himself. 'That means that I am a shinigami…'

Light couldn't believe it. The Shinigami Realm was nothingness… If Ryuk had left and come back, though, that meant that Light could too.

"Where is he?" Light uttered.

"Hunh? What's that? You want to see him?" The shinigami asked in a mocking tone.

"Yes." Light spoke in a calm voice now. If there was one thing Light Yagami was good at, it was keeping his cool even when inside he felt like screaming.

"Why?" The shinigami teased. He was starting to annoy Light.

"There's no fun in meeting him." The shinigami with the deer skull spoke.

"Yeah. You're not making any sense." The third shinigami laughed and adjusted he cloth around his eyes before thumping a small skull off of the table.

Light's patience was gone. He quickly raised his scythe and pounded the back of it into the ground. The impact caused a small cloud of smoke and some rocks to fly up. The three shinigami, and the crowd around them, were quiet.

"Just tell me!" Light yelled. "You said that he was here. He's a shinigami that went to the Human World and did something _interesting._ Now tell me where he is!"

The shinigami stared at Light before looking at each other, then looking back. "He's up there." The first shinigami pointed up to an odd looking mountain with a whole in the middle of the large rock that sat on top.

Light pulled his scythe back towards himself, creating a line in the dirt. Light then turned on his heel and trotted back over to the shinigami with the hollow head who still hadn't gotten up from his position on the ground. Looking down at him, Light spoke:

"Give me your shoes."

"Hunh?" The shinigami was confused, but immediately kicked off his shoes and scurried back considering he had no hands.

Light swiped the fringed boots from the downed shinigami. He then looked up to the mountain where Ryuk supposedly was residing in. Light began to walk towards the mountain. The crowd roared with hysterical laughter and cries of outrage at this new shinigami who'd just set up a powerful reputation for himself, as Light always did. But, Light just continued at his own pace through the crowd. The other shinigami separated as Light walked by.

WHOOSH CLACK

Something hard hit the back of Light's head. Light's head was thrown forward with the impact, but he immediately recovered. The crowd quieted down while they waited to see the new shinigami's reaction. Light simply bent down to pick the object up. Light's eyes quickly found the object by the light reflecting off of the surface. It was a pair of goggles made of leather with yellow lenses. Light's bony fingers grabbed the goggles by the tarnished leather strap.

"Mine now…" He muttered before continuing his pace.

As Light continued through the crowd, the other shinigami began to disperse and return to whatever trivial activities they had been doing before Light has arrived. Light soon found that he could no longer hear the chatter of the other beings and knew that no one could hear him either. He was alone again. The odd-looking mountain was in front of him. Light examined the ridged cliff that faced himself and found that a cloaked figure was staring out of the large hole near the top. Light took an involuntary step back as fear suddenly racked his insides, Light's gaze never left the shinigami above him. Light began to calm once he realized the figure who he assumed to be Ryuk didn't see him. No, it looked like Ryuk was staring out into space.

Light realized that if Ryuk recognized him, the various possible outcomes could turn against his favor; but Light had to see him. Light pondered what he could do about this predicament.

'_If_ he recognizes me…' Light realized that no harm could come if Ryuk were just talking to someone he'd never met; much less killed…

Light pushed out a sigh and looked down to the boots in his right hand, then turned to look at the googles in his left. Light knelt down, his bones creaking as he did so, and began to carefully equip the left shoe. He had to watch and make sure that he didn't impale the already soft leather with his sharp toes. Once he had done so successfully, he did the same with the right shoe. Light then reached up and began to untie the red, ripped tie which hung loosely around his neck, and set it down beside himself so that he wouldn't lose it. With the unnecessary bit of cloth gone, he could now see just how damaged his once white dress shirt was: for one, it was soaked in random places with dark-crimson blood. Also, it had four bullet holes which had ripped with seemingly every agonizing step he took while 'escaping;' the pain was now just a faint memory. Some of the silver buttons had either come undone or fallen off, so Light attempted to re-button the ruined garment. The tanned jacket had turned a deep brown color in the grey lighting and Light let it hang loosely, half off of one shoulder; something he never would have thought about doing in life considering how improper it was. Light then lifted his hands to his messy hair. He couldn't let it stay in this style. His hair would be a dead giveaway to Ryuk. Light pushed his hands back through his hair, the caramel colored locks doing the same. When Light reached down for the tie, the hair stayed back as if he'd dumped a bowl of grease or hair-jell in it. Light resisted the urge to fix the disgusting mess on his head, but knew that it was very necessary and proceeded in tying the tie sideways around his head. Light looked around to see if he'd forgotten anything and found the goggles glowing in the dim light. Picking them up by the tarnished leather strap, he fastened them around his neck and pulled them up over the tie on his forehead.

Light stood once again. His scythe had been lying in front of him while he 'remodeled' his outfit. Light lifted it up off of the dusty ground and placed the large hilt through a hole which had been ripped in the back of his jacket. It stayed and Light could now carry it around easily.

Light looked back up to the cave in the mountain. The figure hadn't seemingly moved a muscle, so Light walked onward. As he got closer to the base of the cliff, he began to see a ridged opening or doorway in the side of the mountain. Light was planning on climbing the mountain, but a door would make it easier. As Light neared the entranceway, his left foot stuck to the ground and nearly tripped him. Light swayed a little before finally regaining his balance and looked down to his feet. Some kind of black goo covered the ground and clung to the sides of his boots. It was bubbling and resembled tar, although it wasn't as thick and every time a bubble popped, a putrid odor was released into the surrounding air. Light tried to move his left foot again, but barely raised it a couple of inches. Light let his foot fall back to the ground and tried the other foot, but to no prevail. Light began to grow anxious, but he knew that he had to stay calm. Losing his cool was what led to his execution. With one more attempt, Light exerted all of his strength into his legs and began to pull his foot up. He began straining his leg when the goo still didn't release. If he kept it up, his segmented leg might break in two. Right as Light was about to lower his leg again and think of an alternative, the tar-like substance began to stretch and produce a sound that sounded like high pitched screaming. Light kept pulling, and finally, the substance broke apart with an audible 'snap.'

Light fell forward and his other foot fell free as if the goo had been alive and had lost interest in him, as so many other things did so. Light stumbled in through the door way and fell onto his hands and knees; the hilt of the scythe clunked him in the back of the head. Light felt a growing pain in his leg, near his knee. Slowly pushing himself back onto his knees, and then into a sitting position, Light pushed his legs out in front of him and lifted up his pants leg. The knee was half way dislocated, which for Light, meant half way off. Light slowly caressed his leg with his fingertips. Pain shot up and down his leg. Light was surprised that he could feel pain in this form. He'd been so arrogant; he hadn't even considered pain. Although, if he could feel pain, did that mean that he could die? Misa had told him about the shinigami Jealous, and he had led Rem to her death by making her save Misa's life. But, were there other ways to die? Ryuk said that humans couldn't kill shinigami. Could shinigami kill other shinigami by force? Could shinigami kill themselves?

Light normally would have held his breath, but since he had none, he simply stared on with a blank expression as he gripped his leg tightly. The pain shot up again but Light had to fix his leg; and with one twist, the joint popped back into place and the pain stopped immediately. Light let the clothing fall back into its normal position and slouched his head and torso over his knees.

"Damn…" He muttered.

Light then noticed something wrapped around his left boot. Light reached down and poked it slightly and jerked his hand back. When it didn't bite, he unwrapped it and brought it up closer to himself. It looked like a vine with the black slim dripping off of it. The vine led all the way back out into the lake of black tar, but when Light tested it, it didn't seem to be attached. Light reeled the vine in closer to himself. Finally, an object connected to the vine emerged from the black that bubbled around it. It was no bigger than the size of Light's hand and fairly skinny. The object left a trail of slim as Light brought it closer to himself.

Finally, when the object was in grabbing distance, Light reached over and brought it up to his face to examine it. The last of the slim dripped to reveal a grey and totally dehydrated fruit of some sort; an apple? It felt like sand paper in his hands. Light pulled and disconnected the vine which was connected to the grotesque fruit like an umbilical cord.

'Ryuk, I hope you still like apples,' Light thought to himself before bringing it up to smell it, then gagged.

Light stood and brushed what little dust he could off of his pants out of habit. The cave that the entrance had led him into was smaller than he had expected. There was only really enough space for the bases of the two grey, stone staircases; one leading up to where Light assumed the cloaked shinigami was, the other led down with nearly infinite steps until even Light, with his perfect vision, only saw a blur of gray. In fact, Light noticed then that he had been lying partially on the ascending stairwell.

Light looked up to the promising stairwell. He could see a faint, bluish light emitting down. Light forced another deep breath through his body; his shoulders moving in sync with his actions. He prepared himself for the worst. At this point, Ryuk or whoever was up there, the possibility of their reaction varied greatly. But Light had to speak with Ryuk. And, if he wasn't there, then Light would find him. Light had an eternity to find his former shinigami. His future relied on Ryuk getting him out of the bleak world known as the Shinigami Realm. But that future could wait for however long it took to find Ryuk.

Light realized that he had been stalling himself with his thoughts. Putrid apple in hand, Light brought his foot to the first of many steps. The noise his foot made sounded abnormally loud. He was sure whoever was up there knew that he was there by now. Or perhaps the noise was just caused by his paranoia and anxiety. Light lifted his other foot up and began a steady pace up the inside of the mountain. His limp became more noticeable as he forced himself to relax. But the ease was short lived. The light grew brighter and the remaining stairs were in single digits. Light's feet stopped, the fringe on his boots swayed forward slightly at the sudden change in movement. The figure in front of him was shrouded in a grey cloak which came about to his waist and was covered with moth holes. His hood covered the back of his head and his face, but Light could see the raven kilt and sack used to carry the Death Note in and knew that the shinigami had led him to the right place and thankfully, Light didn't have to keep looking.

Ryuk didn't turn to look at Light as he spoke, "Who are you…?" His voice was harsh. Perhaps Light's disguise was working.

Light wasted little time in answering, "I-I came to see you." Light mentally cursed himself for stuttering, but it didn't seem that Ryuk had noticed. "I have something to ask you…" Light continued.

"Something?" Ryuk's tone grew more interested.

"You'll find it worth your while…" With a swift movement, Light pulled his arm back and threw the grey apple at Ryuk without warning.

Ryuk turned and raised his hand slightly and caught the apple as it made a sickening squish in his clawed fingers. The grey hood fell from Ryuk's face and Light could now see his spiky, black hair and the twisted smile markings on his grey face. Ryuk smiled slightly as he examined the decomposing fruit and chuckled.

"I'd prefer a juicier one," Ryuk laughed. Light watched as Ryuk threw back his head and devoured the fruit from the black lake.

"I want to go to the Human Realm…" Light blurted out, accidently forgetting the monotone that he'd needed to hide his desperateness. "I'm sick of this boring world."

Light had only been in the Shinigami Realm for a few hours, but he already understood why Ryuk had left six years ago. Ryuk gobbled down the last of the apple and turned back to Light, a placid look on his face.

"I heard that the Human Realm is interesting," Light explained.

"It's a boring world with boring people doing boring things…" Ryuk muttered. "But… a man who tried to change the world was interesting."

Light and Ryuk stood in silence. A wind blew through the large hole in the mountain and blew the cloak around Ryuk and Light's hair back. Ryuk looked back down the hole in the mountain with a bored look on his face.

"Anyway, I'm bored now…" As Ryuk spoke those words, Light's glimmer of hope shriveled up and died. 'At least he hasn't attacked me yet…' Light thought. 'This could have turned out a lot worse.'

"I'll tell you about it…" A small smirk found its way on Ryuk's face as he said that.

Light looked up suddenly and stumbled back a few steps. Ryuk was facing away from him, but he heard Light's reaction. Light didn't want to hear his own story. He didn't want to hear about how he almost had it all but failed, and he didn't want to hear about how he had died and how he had lost to Near… to L.

"To pay you back for the unpalatable apple. That's right. This is a story about a man who tried to change the world and become a god." Ryuk began to chuckle. "It all started a while back. The man was only a boy when he picked up the Death Note. What was his name? Oh, yeah. His name was Li-"

"I'm not interested in the damn story!" Light blurted out.

"Hmn…" Ryuk muttered.

"Just tell me how to leave this wretched earth and that will be payment enough for that repulsive apple!" Light's fists were clenched unknowingly. He waited for Ryuk's response, knowing that he might have pushed it too hard.

"Fine." Ryuk straightened up and turned back to Light. He began to walk towards Light and Light stumbled back to the edge of the stairs. Ryuk chuckled. "Hold still."

"What are you-" Light was fearful. Had Ryuk figured out his true identity?

"You're obviously new here." Ryuk's face was still somewhat bored.

Light was silent as his glowing, red eyes stared at Ryuk with hidden fear. "Perhaps I am," Light's voice didn't crack. He kept it in a monotone while he tried to talk his way out of his predicament.

"Hmn…" Ryuk smiled slightly. "Consider this a gift from Armonia Justin Beyondormason. He taught me this little _trick_." Ryuk chuckled darkly.

Ryuk raised his hand and placed it over Light's eyes; his index finger and thumb on both of Light's temples. Light didn't have time to react before he heard Ryuk's insane laughter and the fingers closed down on his skull.

'Damn! I should have seen this coming!' Light thought to himself. 'What the hell can I do now?!' Light searched his brain desperately. A cracking sound was heard and Light felt immense pain run through his face. "Gyah! W-What?!"

Ryuk then removed his hand and Light collapsed to ground clutching his now throbbing head. Ryuk chuckled again and stepped back over to the opening in the mountain. What kind of 'trick' was that? Light was confused on it all. He doubted his skull would even stay together. As Light sat there in that odd position on the dirty floor, a sudden strange feeling of nausea overcame him. His vision began to blur and he shut his eyes tightly.

"W-What… did you do… to me?" Light asked in between gasps of pain. It was odd that he was panting so heavily when earlier he had had to force himself to sigh.

"A shinigami needs a Death Note. I doubt that anyone here would lend you there's and the only others who can give you one is Justin and the Shinigami King himself. Hmn…" Ryuk chuckled again. "It's nice to see you again… Light."

Light's eyes shot open. His vision was still blurred but the pain had started to reside. His suspicions had been correct. His disguise had failed. Light looked up to Ryuk again. He was looking out of the hole in the wall. He couldn't read his expressions or body language.

"How…?" The pain was now forgotten.

"We don't get any new 'true-bred' shinigami anymore." Ryuk turned his head back slightly to look at Light. "You have to do a better job than a death god to make it here. That is the only reason, Light Yagami, that you are not sitting in a dark abyss right now. You saved yourself from utter nothingness." Ryuk began to Laugh again.

"What did you do…?" Light asked in a shaky voice.

"Give it a second…" Ryuk's smirk grew again.

"What?"

At that moment, Light doubled over in pain. His whole body burned. It hurt too bad to scream. Light fell over onto his side, then on to his back. He squirmed and sprawled around on the floor. Light's vision didn't blur this time, even though the pain was much greater than when Ryuk cracked his skull. Ryuk still didn't turn around. He stood at the hole, watching the grey outside world intently. Something began to distort Light's vision; it was red and it burnt his eyes. It must have been a liquid of some sort because Light could then feel it running down his cheeks.

"What's… happening… to me?" Light gasped.

"You are… Hmn… what's the word? _Transforming._ Yeah, you are transforming back into your human form. You'll thank me for it later. Unfortunately though, it's quite painful."

Light was shocked. He didn't think that shinigami could transform themselves to look like humans. Why had Ryuk never done such a thing? As if reading Light's mind, Ryuk threw back his head and laughed insanely again before answering:

"Only shinigami like you get such a privilege. I have never been a human. That also means that I am of higher ranking or class, I suppose, than you are. It's actually very interesting."

The pain began to subdue and Light whipped away the liquid on his face with shaky hands. As he brought his hands back up to his face, he found that indeed, his flesh had returned with skin, and hair, and fingernails, and even the blue arteries in his wrists. His palms were coated in a thin layer of blood, though. The liquid on his face; Light had blood for tears. Light felt around his head. His skull didn't feel cracked anymore and his hair fell in complete disarray over his eyes. Light then noticed that he was naked.

"How do I change back?" Light asked ignoring his small predicaments.

"Hold your temples like I did to you. I've heard that you'll get used to the pain, although, I have no way of knowing whether or not that fact is true. So, I wouldn't recommend doing that very often. Also, don't get injured in your human form. It is your original body. As you can see, your bullet holes and scars are still there." Light looked down, and true enough, round scars were visible on his shoulders and torso. "You can die in that form. The only shinigami power you have in this state is the eyes. You may have not noticed it yet, but, you can see the names and lifespans of humans. You can't see mine, or any other shinigami's, though, but you can see your own. Although, it would not change due to decisions you make or whether you'll die that day in your human form because it only tells you how much life you have taken from humans whose names you have written down in your Death Note. Speaking of which…"

Light watched as Ryuk pulled a small, black notebook from under his cloak. "A gift from the Shinigami King," Ryuk then extended his arm and held it out for Light to take.

Light was slightly hesitant, although at the same time, he was over joyed. This was the deadliest weapon known to man kind. And now, he got one of his own instead of just using the shinigami, Sidoh's, which Ryuk had stolen. Light clutched the book and began to examine it: Its cover was completely black with no writing, unlike the other two he'd used. He opened it up and flipped through the crisp, white pages, all blank. The rules for the Death Note were not written on the inside of the covers. Light didn't really need them, though. He'd pretty much memorized them. Basically, the note looked like a typical, black notebook. This would make it easy to disguise. Light began to admire the note in his hands and began to fixate on every last detail of it until he was nearly in a trance. A devious smirk graced his face; one that he'd only shown once before. The facial expression represented his soul so perfectly. Only L had seen it as he laid dying in Light's arms.

"I suppose I need to go over some rules with you…" Ryuk's rough voice snapped Light back into reality.

Light looked up to him from where he sat still naked on the floor, the smirk replaced with a blank expression. "Hmn…"

"There aren't that many really. Hmn, where should I begin?" Ryuk placed a clawed finger on his chin as he thought. "Well, I suppose we could start with the shinigami eyes. You don't _have_ to make the deal with the human who picks up the Death Note. No, you don't even have to mention it. But, it adds to your life span and benefits you. I never got you to make the deal, though, so I doubt you even know how it's done. It's quite simple actually. Just touch their eyes. Simple…" Ryuk chuckled again.

Light was surprised. He had expected that he would need Ryuk to repeat or that he would have to write something down to remember it. But, he could remember everything as if he were watching time in reverse. He'd always had great memory, but it was as though his mind had jumped from quasi eidetic recall to total, eidetic recall. With his improved sight and vision, Light began to wonder what other senses had improved drastically.

"I suppose you already know not to save anyone with the Death Note already." Ryuk continued. "You're also not allowed to tell a human another human's name or lifespan. You yourself cannot die from the Death Note, etcetera, etcetera. Any _entity _other than a shinigami can perish if you write their names in a Death Note. Blah blah blah." Ryuk stated the basics in a bored monotone. "Remember not to die in your human form and be careful about who sees you. I'm sure if your family or any of the remaining Task Force members saw you, they'd know that something was up."

Light felt a strange twinge in his heart as he remembered his family. He missed his mother and his little sister, Sayu. They probably thought he was a monster now, though. It would probably be a mistake to visit them. He remembered the thought that once flashed across his mind; the thought about killing Sayu to protect his identity as Kira. He felt an unfamiliar emotion as he remembered. Could it be guilt? Surely there was something wrong with him when he was human. His mind raced as he tried to figure out how he could think such a thing.

Ryuk noticed that Light had returned to a pensive state of thought like he so commonly did. The atmosphere was getting boring again and he knew that he needed to do something, otherwise Light would probably sit like that forever. So, while Light stared blankly at the ground, he reached over and crushed Light's temples again with his thumb and index finger. Light only had half of a second for his crimson pupils to adjust to the clawed hand coming toward his face before he was once again in pain. As he screamed and writhed and his vision again turned vermilion, he noted at how this transformation seemed faster. Maybe, he would get used to it.

As the pain died, Light sat up again. He was no longer breathing and when he looked down, his uncharacteristic outfit was covering him again. He could also feel the weight of the heavy scythe on his back. Light looked back up to Ryuk and a low growl escaped from his open chest. Ryuk's response was more laughter. Sometimes, Light felt like punching Ryuk. He never could when he was alive; his fist would have gone straight through him. He could now, though. But, Light remembered his theory about shinigami being able to kill other shinigami and realized that Ryuk was probably stronger than himself. So, he refused the urge to punch Ryuk in fear of a second death.

"I suppose that you want to drop your Death Note. That's when the fun begins." Ryuk smirked.

Light answered still in a somewhat angry tone, "I did say that I wanted out of this bleak world. I feel like I'm in Kansas…"

Ryuk cocked his head to the side and thought for a moment before answering, "I don't get it."

"I forget that you've never heard of The Wizard of Oz…" Light mumbled.

"Oh… What's that?"

"Nothing… Forget I said it." Light said as he got back up to his feet again.

"What is it? I'm interested…" Ryuk complained.

"Ryuk! Please stay focused. Where do I drop the Death Note?" Light asked in an irritated voice.

"Oh, right…" Ryuk turned and headed back to the window.

As Ryuk looked out over the grey earth, he turned and gestured with his index finger for Light to come, too. Light slowly joined by Ryuk's side. Placing his hands on the small ledge, Light leaned over and looked down. He involuntarily gasped; he could see the Human World. It was spinning very quickly, though. It seemed as though one cycle was completed every three minutes or so. If time worked differently in the two dimensions, then it could mean that he was watching days fly by, possibly years.

"You can focus on a certain place to drop it," Ryuk said this as the small world that they were watching grew closer and larger.

Its speed slowed down to what seemed to be normal time and it turned until Japan was in view. It zoomed in to Earth like a camera would when taking a picture, and bypassed clouds and random satellites until there was an overhead view of Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo. It appeared to be sunset and Light watched as countless people hurried across the busy streets, the cars and the buses with advertisement logos plastered on their sides, the giant screens. Light could see everyone's names and lifespans in red above their heads. The lifespans were in some mathematical order that was new to Light, he couldn't convert it into years. Ignoring that fact, he suddenly felt an alien feeling in his chest. Light had never really felt homesick. The twinge in his heart returned.

Without turning to look away from Japan, Light spoke, "No. If I drop it here and the Kira killings start again, the Task Force and the SPK will know something's wrong. It needs to be somewhere new. Somewhere I've never been."

"Do what I did," Ryuk offered. "Drop it at random."

The image of Japan zoomed back out to the view of the world and began spinning at an unnatural rate again. Light extended his arm, with the Death Note in hand, out over the image of the Earth. Light hesitated.

"Remember," Ryuk began. "Once the Death Note touches the ground, it is no longer yours. It will become the property of the first person to pick it up, and remain theirs until they either forfeit the note or die. And considering the fact that you won't be able to use the Death Note, who knows how long that will be."

"Yes. I know this…" Light stated blankly before releasing the Death Note.

The two shinigami watched as the plain, black book fall. As it reached the spinning Earth, the atmosphere around it lit up and the note was no longer visible. An eerie silence fell over the grey world. All of the Death Gods could feel that a Death Note had reached the Human Realm.

"Looks like the newbie's found a way out…" Zellogi, the shinigami with the Native American headdress said to the other two shinigami around him. The others were quiet and seemed to ignore him as they continued to gamble with the small skulls. Zellogi looked to the oddly shaped mountain as a small wind blew grey dust past him.

"I suppose you should be leaving now…" Ryuk mentioned to Light through the silence. "If someone takes it before you get there, it will be a pain to try and find."

"How will I know where it is?" Light asked still in a monotone.

"You just will. Shinigami can feel when anything from this world is nearby."

"… I guess I'll be going then." Light turned away from the ledge and began to walk back towards the stairs. Light stopped suddenly and without turning back to Ryuk, he spoke to the being who had ended his life, "Thank you, Ryuk."

"Go. The only thing that can change this immutable boredom is if you find an unbelievable person and come back with an experience that you will remember for the rest of your life…"

Light continued down the first flight of stairs. It seemed to take longer to get down than it did when he first ascended them. When he finally made it to the small room he'd escaped the black lake in, he looked down to the second staircase and the endless stairs which it contained. Light took a deep breath and stood up straight before the skeletal wings protruded from his back. With a single step, Light began to fall down past the infinite flights of steps. He counted the seconds; one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen… He'd already almost reached one hundred feet, yet beneath him was still a blur of grey. Light decided to stop counting and watched for any change beneath him. When he could see a bright light coming from what he presumed it to be the bottom, he flexed his wings and flapped once to gain balance. He let himself fall for a couple meters before flapping once or twice and then repeating.

As he fell through the white light, his senses seemed to die and he couldn't feel anything. When his senses returned, he was plummeting to Earth head first. His wings were acting somewhat like a parachute but for the most part were just being pulled down behind him. He could see a number of skyscrapers beneath him and growing closer by the second. Light quickly positioned himself back upright and with another strong flap, he stopped his descent. As he hovered there in the air, he focused on his surroundings. It was dark outside but illuminated with many lights and headlights. He was glad that this area looked populated. He could feel that the Death Note was nearby.

Slowly, Light headed down to the ground. He landed outside of a café. The sign said 'sorry, but we are CLOSED' in metallic letters. It was in English. With that, the possibilities of where Light had landed dwindled down into single digits. He'd learned English in middle school and practiced it throughout high school. He hadn't practiced for a while though, so he feared that his English might be a little rusty.

Light walked up to the front door of the café. He was about to reach for the doorknob, but a girl wearing headphones suddenly walked through him and kept going. He'd forgotten that no one could see him unless they'd touched the Death Note. So, he simply walked through the door. As he walked through the small restaurant, he found a garbage bin behind a marble counter. As he looked through it, Light found what he was looking for: a newspaper. Light flipped it over to the front page and looked across the top for a date. When he found it, he was shocked. The newspaper read, 'May 31, 2016.' Light had only been in the Shinigami realm for a few hours, a day maximum. Yet, the newspaper told him that he'd been dead for nearly three years.

Light retracted his wings back into his back and placed the newspaper back into the garbage bin. As he turned to leave, he caught sit of a white, rectangular security camera staring at him. As he scanned the room, he noted that there was only one that pretty much covered the whole room, and headed to the back to look for the tape. He knew that if someone found that a newspaper was floating on its own, that they would think it was a ghost. But if it somehow got to Near, that the little brat would know better. And Light wasn't willing to take chances.

As Light reached the back, he found a white door that said, 'EMPLOYEES ONLY.' Light walked through the door and found a table with two small screens and a VSR. One screen showed the outside of the building near the front entrance, the other was the one with invisible Light and the floating newspaper. Light pressed the button labeled, 'OPEN' on the VSR and a black tape was ejected from the slot. Light gently picked up the tape and brought it close to his face so that he could examine it. With a small bit of pressure added to his fingers, the tape collapsed and Light's bony fingers fell through to the long string of film. Light pulled out all of the film and placed the crushed piece of plastic onto the table. Light walked back into the main room and found the kitchen. There was a small oven behind the counter, and Light pulled the door open and placed the film inside. Light closed the door and turned the heat on all of the way inside. He was about to leave, but realized that if the place burnt down, someone would lose their business. So, he waited and watched the film melt through the glass and turned the oven off once he was satisfied with the black blob of plastic inside. Now they'd only have to clean the oven.

Light walked back outside. Now, he only had to figure out where he was. The newspaper had been ripped and removed the information on where he was. He'd ask the new owner of his Death Note. Maybe he'd find them soon. He could feel that the Death Note was very close. So, he began to walk in the direction that his instincts were pulling him in. Kira's reign had not died with Light Yagami. No, in fact, it had only just begun.


End file.
